Breathe
by brighteyes-012
Summary: Its the TriWizard Tournament, and as the Champion of Beauxbaton's, Fleur Delacour has to go through the many difficult tasks of the tournament. However, she wasn't prepared for her biggest obstacle; falling for Hermione Granger.
1. a message from yours truly

Hey there! Its been a long time…a very long time. Ive decided that I want to take up this story again, but ill probably write a new one. Going to make it darker, more angst! Whoo! And plus ive got a better concept of writing. ;)

Anyways. I forgot to add this part, butttttt heres the debate going on inside my head:

Have Fleur be in Hermione's year. They've grown up together in Hogwarts, etc

Or

Continue to have her as the foreigner, the triwizard champ from beauxbaton's.

Review and tell me what you think? Please? If I don't get a lot of them ill choose by coin toss :P


	2. CHAPTER I the real one i swear

**Hey guys! its been a while...2 years in fact! i apologize for getting discouraged enough to not finish this story, but at least now im giong to attempt to get it up and going again. im in high school, so bear with me :/ i might get caught up in homework at some point (UGH). anyways, i also was thinking about making 2 different fanfics following Hermione/Fleur where she is a student here at hogwarts, anddddd also one where it is in the storyline of Moulin Rouge! i love that movie...so much... :') tell me what you think, and i might get on that as well :)**

**this is just a reedited, POLISHEDDDD ( ****sorry to disappoint, had to do it) version of the first chapter, i wanted more indepth coverage of the first 2 chapters i have already written. looking back i cant believe how incredibly short these chapters were... D: and remember: i dont own harry potter. or hermione. or fleur. sad face.**

**remember also that **'_this means thinking'_**_,_** this means normal 'ol jolly good british talk**, ****and that 'this means talking in French/Veela'**** if only I truly knew how to speak French… :/ sigh. Im going to probably switch point of views in some points too. no worries. ill have chapter 2 up soon!**

**Chapter I**

The Hogwarts Express whistled loudly, the sound vibrating through the whole train as the wheels began rolling on the tracks. The gleaming scarlet steam engine started off slow, clouds of steam spewing out from it parents and beloved family members saying their last goodbyes to the students hanging out the windows of the cabins. It didn't take long for the crowd at platform 9 and three-quarters to soon look like little faint outlines to the students on the train. Hermione sat back in her cushioned seat, pulling out a Daily Prophet newspaper from her bag. The front page was covered in articles about the World Cup incident, which did nothing but frustrate her with worry. Her brows furrowed together as she flipped through the pages of the newspaper.

Ron was still up against the window, his hand pressed against the cool window when he heard a grunt from Hermione. Just as he was about to speak, the old woman who sold candy and food off of the trolley rolled up to their cabin.

"Anything from the trolley, dears?" the old woman smiled sweetly. Immediately Ron asked for a licorice wand, with Harry in tow. Even in their 4th year they still had not changed, which made Hermione give out a little smirk. She even giggled when Harry just stood dumbfounded in front of Cho Chang, who she could tell was quite embarrassed; her smile bringing about a flush of bright crimson to her face. The Ravenclaw quickly left the scene, amusing Hermione when Harry just stood in the doorway, oblivious to the woman with the trolley.

"Excuse me, sir, did you want anything…?" Her voice lingered on a moment as the black haired boy snapped out of his reverie.

"Er…nothing, I'm fine thanks." Harry muttered quickly, his face growing hot with embarrassment. Harry sat down without a word, his eyes tightly shut in what was yet to come. Even Ron had caught up with the current events that just had occurred, which gave Hermione a bit of a surprise. Ron lightly punched his friend's shoulder, giving him a knowing smile.

"Shove off, Ron," Harry uttered, looking away from his two companions. He folded his arms against his chest and slunk down into the cushioned seat. Hermione shook her head, watching this interaction with a smile on her face. She had missed her best friends all summer long, and even though they spent the remaining couple weeks with them at the World Cup she didn't quite count that as a fun break; their encounter with the Death Eaters was most definitely an unwanted one. Clearly things were changing, which made the brunette fidget in her seat. All three of them were quiet now, thinking to themselves when the witch decidedly laid down the Daily Prophet.

Out of the corner of her eye, the brunette saw Harry scratch at his forehead, wincing in pain a little as he did so. Hermione took in the sight before deciding to speak, choosing her words carefully.

"Its hurting again…isn't it? Your scar."

Harry looked at her incredulously, wide eyed. He glanced away from her eye contact, "I'm fine." Hermione moved in closer, her voice barely above a whisper when she gained back his attention.

"You know Sirius will want to hear about this," she paused for a moment, "what you saw at the world cup…and what you saw in your dream." Her concerned disposition made Harry look away again, before reaching out for his quill and a piece of parchment. Hermione leant back in her seat, feeling a bit more comforted that she spoke her mind with her friend. Afterall, Harry, as well as Ron, was like a brother to her. She didn't want to see them end up hurt, or worse off. She pushed the thought away, glancing out the window.

It was still raining outside, as it was doing so before they left the station. The cold, dark weather making the gloom overcast the trio's surroundings. Hermione yawned silently, her hand masking her mouth as her eyes fluttered shut. She had not gotten much sleep since the Death Eater incident, so she found herself dozing off rather quickly especially since all the boys animatedly conversed about was Quidditch.

It didn't take long before they finally reached Hogwarts, with the trio along with Neville finding their way to the gates by the means of horseless carriages that awaited them. Through the gates, flanked with statues of winged boars, and up the sweeping drive the carriages trundled, swaying dangerously in what was fast becoming a gale. Leaning against the window of the carriage, Harry could see Hogwarts coming nearer, its many lighted windows blurred and shimmering behind the think curtain of rain. Lightning flashed across the sky as their carriage came to a halt before the great oak front doors, which stood at the top of a flight of stone steps. People who had occupied the carriages were already hurrying up the stone steps into the castle. Hermione, Harry, Ron, and Neville jumped down from their carriage and dashed up the steps too, looking up only when they heard a strange noise coming from the sky. Slowly the sound of wings beating against the wind got the attention of the young witches and wizards, who stood there confused and amazed at what they saw.

On the grounds they could see the game keeper, Hagrid, raising his arms up with great fans swinging them in the air. As the mass came into view, the students could see it was a group of winged horses bound together, with a rather large carriage in tow that swung about wildly with each turn. The Pegasus' legs with running rapidly through the air, their heads twisting about in excitement, nearing closer to the great big man that was guiding them to a safe landing.

"Clear the runway!" Hagrid bellowed out. The neighing horses were decelerating at too slow of a rate however, and if it wasn't for Hagrid leaping out of the way he probably would've gotten trampled or crushed to death by the huge carriage they were pulling. The crowd of students that were watching this sighed in relief at this, for they had not wanted to see such an event with their own eyes.

"Now that's something you don't see everyday," Fred commented. Hermione even gave out a small, nervous chuckle before some second year shouted, his hand pointing toward the black lake.

"Look! It's a ship!" The small boy shouted animatedly, who caught the attention of all the others. The students soon swept to the other side of the steps, their eyes keen on the subtle waves which grew in size quickly. Slowly a giant whirlpool twisted within the lake, giving way to something emerging from the water. It didn't take long before the main mast of a ship could be seen, an unknown flag whipping wildly through the cold breezes. Gasps and claims of wonder could be heard amongst the crowd when the huge deck of a ship slowly rose from the water. Her eyes squinted in an attempt to see the flag's emblem, but after a moment she lost interest when she found it impossible. Who were these people?

Once inside the cavernous, torch-lit entrance hall, with its magnificent marble staircase the trio found themselves starving from the ride over, as well as cold from the rain. Their stomachs humorously rumbled from within, all three of them clutching at their stomachs.

"Blimey," said Ron, shaking his head and sending water everywhere, "if that keeps up the lake's going to overflow. I'm soaking wet….ugh." Ron tugged at his wet clothes that annoyingly clung to his body.

"At least it's finally warm in here," shuddered Hermione.

"Well, move along, then!" said Professor McGonagall sharply to the bedraggled crowd. "Into the Great Hall, come on!"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione slipped and slid across the entrance hall and through the double doors on the right, Ron muttering under his breath as he pushed his sopping hair off his face.

The Great Hall looked its usual splendid self, decorated for the start-of-term feast. Golden plates and goblets gleamed by the light of hundreds and hundreds of candles, floating over the tables in midair. The four long House tables were packed with chattering students; at the top of the Hall, the staff sat along one side of a fifth table, facing their many pupils. It was much warmer in here, to the trio's great delight. Hermione, Harry, and Ron walked past the Slytherins, the Ravenclaws, and the Hufflepuffs, and sat down with the rest of the Gryffindors at the far side of the Hall, next to Neville and Ginny.

"Goodevening," Ginny said pleasantly, her mouth curved up in a smile. However, this smile turned into a frown when Ron took off his sneakers and emptied them of water, "bloody hell, Ron, stepped in the lake for a nice swim or something? Even I wasn't that drenched."

Hermione couldn't even make out Ron's response as she heard Dumbledore say his speech solely for the first years. She hoped the sorting would go by rather quickly, which to her delight they did. She smiled sweetly as the last of the first years made its way nervously to the Gryffindor table, everyone clapping with good cheers except for a few Slytherins who booed in the process.

"Now that we're all settled in and sorted, I'd like to make an announcement. This castle won't only be your home this year, but home to some very special guests this year," the great wizard paused, his old eyes scanning the masses before he picked up again, "You see, Hogwarts has been chosen to host a legendary event…the Triwizard Tournament!" He ended with his voice loud, awaiting to let his words sink in before continuing. The students whispered amongst each other, heads bobbing left and right with some in confusion, some in pure anticipation and excitement. The trio exchanged glances, smiles on their faces as they knew what was to come now, and why such strange activities occurred outside the castle just now.

" Now for those of you who do not know, the tri-wizard tournament brings together three schools for a series of magical contests. From each school a single contestant is selected to compete." Students within the Great Hall chatted in hushed tones, smiles on their faces. "Now let me be clear, if chosen you stand alone. And trust me when I say these contests are not for the faint hearted, but more of that later," Hermione looked at him with a tilted head, noticing a twinkle in his eye when their eyes met, "for now please join me in welcoming the lovely ladies of the Beauxbatons Academy of magic and their headmistress Madam Maxime"

Hermione's brows pulled together in thought after Dumbledore's eyes went straight to the grand doors that began to creak open. The giant wooden doors swung open tantalizingly slow to everyone's curiosity, making even some teachers shift in their seats as they awaited their welcomed guests. As soon as the doors were fully open, a breeze of air flooded the room, bringing in the most pleasant aromas that have ever touched the brunette's nose. It was the faint scent of French perfume, the very finest she could tell. She inhaled deeply, going into a daze of some sorts as blue figures began to emerge from the end of the hall.

As Fleur made her way through the doors, hand in hand with her younger sister, Gabrielle, she looked in amusement at the lackluster of the castle's Great Hall. '_This is nothing compared to Beauxbaton's in France. It is too cold…' _she thought to herself, sighing, pulling her muffler off her neck. Even though she only left hours ago, she feels like she's been away from her home for an eternity. She didn't like this feeling of homesickness that was already eating away at her stomach. She already missed the warm air, the soft grass that never failed to give her comfort if she chose to lie down in the fields. _'At least I have my Gabrielle,' _she smiled at the thought of her sister, who was indeed the only thing now to give her such comforts of home. She was the only thing she would be used to for the next year here in England. '_Miserable. Cold. Wet. Gloomy. England.'_

However to add to her disapproval, the silver haired girl began to notice the many faces of the masses gawking at her. She looked looked down in a moment of nervousness, only to feel the tight squeeze of her sister's hand in her own. She gave a side glance to Gabrielle, who gave her a lopsided, but nonetheless, encouraging smile. They both knew of the curse they shared, the cursed blood of inhuman beauty that rain through their veins.

Fleur learned from a young age just how impacting she was, the moment she hit puberty when she was 12 she reduced a boy to even drool on his own shirt. With her long silvery flowing hair, deep blue eyes, white, even teeth, and the air of gracefulness in her presence, it was (extremely) hard not to look away (amazed). Most found it almost impossible not to stare at this French beauty. From that occurrence onward, she hated the feeling of huge masses, all those hundreds of eyes turning to solely her. She felt like she was burning at the stake under the smoldering heat of all those gazes. However, Gabrielle's cold hand reached over to clasp our laced hands, the icy touch waking Fleur out of her daze when she saw the concern in her sister's face.

She shook this thought away immediately and looked beyond the many faces that were gaping at her and Gabrielle. '_Ugh…'_ she commented, again to herself, wrinkling her nose in disgust, and looked away trying to ignore their glazed over faces. She turned her head straight in front of her, to her fellow peers decked out in blue. Her mouth curved upward when they released magical blue butterflies up in the air, sighing into the air as they did so. She chuckled to herself when she heard a certain red haired boy shout out "Bloody hell! Look at them!"

She looked in the boys direction, smiling at the thought of how of school was perceived so highly in the minds of all the boys. She couldn't blame them though; most of the girls who went to Beauxbaton's were truly pretty. Soon she found the exact boy, straightening his scarlet and golden tie nervously. He turned his head away from the girl's behinds and caught Fleur's stare, his face turning a rather unpleasant shade of purple. She smirked as she passed, however that smirk soon faded as she did a double take on the girl sitting next to the red haired boy. She felt her heart beat a little faster, even though she only saw the girl for a fleeting moment. But with the wave of her hand she shooed away the thought, coming nearer now to an old, long white bearded man standing in the front of a golden podium.

The other girls soon parted ways when they reached the other end of the Hall; their introduction over as they skipped by to find a seat at the great long tables. When Fleur and Gabrielle reached the end of the hall, they twirled in place to bow to the audience before them, giving the masses a fake, but convincing smile of cheer. With a second to spare, the silver haired girl felt her beloved Madame Maxine brush past her to greet the man who must be the wizard named 'Dumbledore'.

She heard a scottish boy in the crowd comment about her headmistress, "Blimey! That's one big woman!" Her eyes glared in the direction for a second, before giving her sole attention Dumbledore. Up close she finally recognized him, from having seen his picture in the newspapers and magazines alike. Fleur briefly smiled at Dumbledore, curtsying at him politely. Waiting until Fleur was upright, her headmistress exchanged hugs with Dumbledore after they kissed on the cheek, leaving her and her sister to retire. Amidst the stares, Fleur followed her peers quietly and found them sitting at the table with the emblem of a raven._ 'Must be Ravenclaw, obviously.' _

The blonde scanned the never ending table, trying to locate a vacant spot for her and her sister until she noticed one not too far off, with a few of her close friends near by. **"Found a spot, Gabby,"** Fleur said in her native tongue as she tugged at her sister's hand. To her amusement, while they strutted past cludders of students were shoving at eachother to make room for the blonde. Ignoring these helpless people, they walked a little ways up the hall, deciding to sit next to a long blonde haired girl and an asian girl. The blonde gave Fleur a strange smile as the asian girl decided to speak.

"Hello, I'm Cho Chang," she said with an honest smile, surprising the French girl when spoke with a Scottish accent. Cho held out her hand, with Fleur reaching over the table to firmly grasp it, "and this is Luney Love-" all of a sudden her face turned to that of a mix of embarrassment and horrified before continuing, "I mean, Luna Lovegood." She commented quickly, her face down for a moment before composing herself again.

Luna didn't seem to react to this at all, another surprise to Fleur when she held out her hand just like Cho did in greeting her. She seemed pleasant enough, though she had a little dazed look in her eyes that Fleur noticed. As they shook hands, Fleur almost forgot to speak in English as she introduced herself and her sister. "Hello there," Luna said airily.

"It's nice to meet you both, I'm Fleur Delacour…and this is my sister, Gabrielle," the French girl noted, her hand comfortingly on her sister's shoulder.

"Bonjour," Gabrielle said in French, giving the two new girls a nice innocent smile. Fleur was about to speak again, but was cut off by Dumbledore's voice that vibrated through the Hall.

"And now our friends from the north, please greet the proud sons of Durmstrang and the high master Igor Karkaroff!"

With that, the doors slowly creaked open again, this time letting boys the size of men in. Fleur's eyes narrowed at the thought of even more males coming into the area, _'I don't even think I can handle more.' _She shuddered at the thought.

The boys of Durmstrang were indeed impressive, though, Fleur had to admit. They appeared invincible as they stalked off into the hall, parading into the place with their canes that allowed them to breath out fire in the forms of dragons that swept through the night sky of the Great Hall. Clearly they knew how to show off. Soon enough all the students of Hogwarts gaped in awe once again as they saw the beloved Seeker of Bulgaria, Viktor Krum leading the line alongside Karkroff. He looked determined in the least, as if he could burn anything that was in his line of view.

"Look-Blimey it's him! It's Viktor Krum!" Fleur heard, that same red-haired boy cried out in amazement. She couldn't help herself but to chuckle again. She knew of Viktor's famous status in society, he was actually one of her favorite Quidditch players. Quidditch was one thing that she could find in common here in at Hogwarts, it definitely seemed that everyone clearly loved the sport as much as she, even though she chose to gawk at the poor boy that had just walked in.

Fleur watched as the husky male walked through, noticing his serious look turning as always to look at her, and then back behind him as he passed some girl with wavy brown hair. For once, she was glad that someone had enough power to turn away.

And as soon as the Durmstrang students chose and took their seats at the Slytherin table and the two headmasters exchanged greetings just as before, Dumbledore spoke with another strong voice of excitement, "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and – most particularly – guests," he said looking at the foreign students, his gaze contacting Fleur's own, "I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable."

But as soon as he said that, Gabrielle, sitting next to Fleur, bumped her knee hard into table when she crossed her legs. Gabrielle winced in pain immediately as Fleur couldn't help but laugh, for her sister was known as quite clumsy in some instances. Her sister gave her an evil look as she smacked Fleur's arm, making her laugh a little louder. Her amusement, however soon died down as soon as she heard someone grunt in annoyance.

"No ones making you stay!" Fleur heard a girl hiss near her, misinterpreting the cause of her (somewhat quiet) laugh. This made her flush, realizing her mistake instantly.

"…**sorry,"** Gabrielle said embarrassed to her older sister, taking off her blue cap. Her hand ran through her own long length of silvery blonde hair awkwardly. She gave Fleur a sheepish smile of pure innocence.

With a quick smile to her apology, the older girl turned to face Professor Dumbledore. "The tournament will be officially opened at the end of the feast," said Dumbledore. "I now invite you all to eat, drink, and make yourselves at home!" He sat down, and Fleur saw Karkaroff lean forward at once and engage him in conversation. She couldn't help but notice Madame Maxine converse with another rather large man, with a humorous looking midget in between them looking quite out of place. Her brows lifted a tad, and her eyes softened when she saw the two smile widely at each other. However, her spying didn't last long when she felt the faint nudge coming from her side.

"Fleur can you pass the Bouillabaisse?" Gabrielle said, and then taking a second look at the empty plate. Fleur looked at her incredulously, clearly not knowing how the girl could eat so much when she had not even took a sip out of her golden goblet.

"Seriously, Gabby? You managed to empty the whole plate already?" Fleur gave her sister a look of sarcastic disbelief. Cho and Luna even noticed as well and chuckled lightly, covering their own food filled mouths with their hands.

"Yes…," Gabrielle said with a frown growing in size. She widened her eyes in a puppy dog manner, "Oh could you get me some, please? They have some over at the table across us…please, please Fleur?"

"Oh yes Fleur, please do so, the Nargles might eat at her brain if she goes on starving for much longer," Luna nodded quickly, earning the other three girls strange stares.

"Okay, okay." The silvery blonde said with amusement, her hands brought up in feigned surrender to her sister. It too was her favorite food, but she didn't like it the same way her sister did. Scooting out of her seat, she fixed her skirt, patting down the folds wanting to seem more perfect than she already was. _'untouchable'_ she smiled to herself.

With that she walked over to where Gabrielle had first pointed to, the Gryffindor table; her eyes on the plate of bouillabaisse. She hadn't even noticed the red-haired boy that swooned over Krum (as well as herself), that was turning to an unpleasant shade of purple again. Each step seemed to make his jaw dropped lower; the idea of her coming near baffled him. However ignoring his glazed eyes, she laid her hand lightly on the shoulder of a brunette haired girl; she didn't want to even attempt talking to the red head.

"Excusez moi, are you wanting the bouillabaisse?"

As soon as she spoke, she felt the brunette stiffen and she immediately withdrew her hand from her shoulder. Despite her effort the girl did not even turn around, and instead the red-haired boy (much to her dislike) turned an even deeper shade of purple-scarlet. The boy to his left, who had messy jet black hair and a lighting bolt scar, pushed the dish toward her, "Yeah, have it."

"You are finished with it?"

"Yeah…it was amazing." The purpled faced boy said. Just as he said that, the brunette in front of him turned to finally look Fleur, having an angered face.

Suddenly with the brunette gazing into her deep blue eyes, Fleur blushed a scarlet that could rival the red haired boy. She felt her face grow hot as she just stood there dumbfounded. This was certainly one thing that she had not experienced, her heart rapidly increased in each beat, as she simply stared into the brown eyes of the smaller girl. A girl that still had the air of youth surrounding her, even though she clearly hit puberty herself. With features that could only compliment each other perfectly, Fleur noted how pretty her brown eyes were, in contrast to her auburn hair that flowed with smooth, long waves.

Not another moment went by until Fleur caught herself staring, the pretty brunette giving her a deep scowl. "Ah…forgive me, but you are just very pretty. I couldn't but help notice your brown eyes." Fleur admitted sheepishly. Although this might've worked on the poor boy in front of the brunette, this had no calming effect on the girl. Instead she lifted her brows in confusion first, but then furrowed them in frustration so fast that Fleur couldn't decide on if she had the first impression at all.

"Go ahead, take it and leave," she snapped with anger, as the brown eyes flicked back to the drooling boy, her back turned to the blonde. Apparently she looked very annoyed, and it clearly showed on the boys faces as the color actually drained from the red head's face. Fleur chose this opportunity wisely to walk away, knowing the red-haired boy eyes were still glued to her like before when she heard the black haired boy laughing at him. She could also make out the words, "She's a V_eela_!"

She inhaled and let out a great sigh as she took the plate back to Ravenclaw table with a confused face, setting it down in front of an also equally confused Gabrielle. "Merde! What was that all about?" Gabrielle and Cho both had their eyes on Fleur as she sat down, seeing how hostile the brunette had been to her. All Fleur did was shrug, shaking her head trying to see what she had done. Maybe she had been a little too forward and pushed her limits. Or maybe that insufferable red head was, in fact, her boyfriend. She hoped it was at least the former.

Luna was still glancing over at the girl, a strange look on her face when she spoke. "How odd, I've never seen Hermione act out like that." Cho nodded, agreeing to this.

"True, but then again she has to deal with Ron probably constantly talking about all you Beauxbaton girls," Cho said with a playful smile. Fleur looked back, and to her relief the red head decided to focus on something else. However, she did see the black haired boy glance every so often in their direction, mainly at the asian girl in front of her. "Girls…" Cho commented, shaking her head with the thought of Hermione lashing out before she picked up her fork again. Fleur side glanced at Gabrielle, who was once again feasting down the bouillabaisse.

She looked back on her own clean plate, when she developed a nauseous feeling in the pit of her stomach, "Yes…girls…" she muttered silently under her breath, reaching for the bouillabaisse.

**damn those soul-less gingers! just kidding Ron. or maybe im not. muahahaha**


	3. Chapter II

**Ooh la la! I love Crystal Castles. especially "Intimate". It gets me in the mood to write, i can't believe i even wrote this much so fast! :O**

**Here's chapter II! Hope you enjoy ****oh yeah-on a side note, Gabrielle is going to be in Hermione's year. Foreshadowing! Lets see if you can guess correctly what's going to happen in time :) oh and also, Cho is going to be a sixth year student with Fleur (and Fleur's already 17-so she can compete).**

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**Chapter II.**

Hermione swore at the two boys internally, stabbing at her sausage in fury. _'How dare she just come up and make me look like a fool. Lying to me like that, probably trying to just gain even more attention to herself…' _Hermione looked at her companions incredulously, both staring in the direction towards the Ravenclaw table. She slowly turned her back to see that their gaze particularly fell at the Veela's back. Her eyes fell to Cho Chang, who was sitting across from Fleur, _'Well at least one of my idiot friends has good taste, although I can't say much about Ronald's decision.'_

"The only reason you like her, Ronald, is the fact that she's Veela. She's only _made _that way because of her thrall. When you've both put your eyes back in," said Hermione briskly, "you'll be able to see who just arrived."

While in the general direction close to the Ravenclaw table, Hermione noticed a few people walk into the Great Hall. She was pointing up at the staff table now, showing Ron and Harry who she was exactly speaking about. The two remaining empty seats had just been filled. Lud Bagman was now sitting on Professor Karkaroff's side, while Mr. Crouch, Percy's boss, was next to Madame Maxine.

"What are _they _doing here?" said Harry in surpise, his distaste toward the ministry was rather obvious. They always tried making dear Harry their poster boy.

Hermione however, rolled her eyes. "They organized the Triwizard Tournament, didn't they?" said the brunette. "I suppose they wanted to be here to see it start."

When the second course arrived, Hermione noticed a number of unfamiliar deserts too. Ron examined an odd sort of pale blancmange closely, then moved it carefully a few inches to his right, so that it would be clearly visible from the Ravenclaw table. The girl who looked like a Veela appeared to have eaten enough, however, and did not come get it, much to Ron's disappointment. Hermione shook her head, her forefingers touching her temple to calm her down.

Once the golden plates had been wiped clean, Dumbledore stood up again. A pleasant sort of tension seemed to fill the Hall now. Hermione felt a slight thrill of excitement, her unpleasant feeling slowly dissipating as she wondered what was to come. Several seats down from them, Fred and George were leaning forward, staring at Dumbledore with great concentration for once.

"The moment has come," spoke Dumbledore, smiling at the sea of upturned faces. "The Triwizard Tournament is about to start. I would like to say a few words of explanation before we bring in the casket-"

"The what?" Harry muttered.

Ron just shrugged, scratching his head full of bright red hair.

"-just to clarify the procedure that we will be following this year. But first, let me introduce, for those who do not know them, Mr. Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation"-there was a smattering of polite applause-"and Mr. Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports."

There was a much louder round of applause for Bagman than Crouch, perhaps because of his fame as a Beater, or simply because he looked so much more likable to the masses. He acknowledged it with a jovial wave of his hand. Bartemius Crouch did not smile or wave when his name was announced. Remembering him in his neat suit at the Quidditch World Cup, Hermione thought he looked strange in wizard's robes. His toothbrush mustache and severe parting looked very odd next to Dumbledore's long white hair and beard.

"Mr. Bagman and Mr. Crouch have worked tirelessly over the last few months on the arrangements for the Triwizard Tournament," Dumbledore continued, "and they will be joining myself, Professor Karkaroff, and Madame Maxine on the panel that will judge the champion's efforts."

At the mention of the word "champion" the attentiveness of the listening students seemed to sharpen. Hermione inhaled a breath of anticipation of what Dumbledore was about to reveal, her body stiffening with wait. Perhaps Dumbledore had noticed their sudden stillness, for he smiled as he said, "The casket, then, if you please, Mr. Filch."

Filch, who had been lurking unnoticed in a far corner of the Hall, now approached Dumbledore carrying a great wooden chest encrusted with jewels. It looked extremely old. A murmur of excited interest rose from the watching students. Hermione could hear that French girl exclaim "Mon dieu" in wonder. To her amusement, even some first years actually stood on their chairs to see it properly, but, being so tiny, their heads hardly rose above anyone else's.

"The instructions for the tasks the champions will face this year have already been examined by Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman," said Dumbledore as Filch placed the chest carefully on the table before him, "and they have made the necessary arrangements for each challenge. There will be three tasks, spaced throughout the school year, and they will test the champions in many different ways…their magical prowess-their daring-their powers of deduction-and, or course, their ability to cope with danger."

At his last word, the Hall was filled with a silence so absolute that nobody dared to even breathe. Hermione shuddered, looking at Harry silently for a moment. She had a feeling Harry would put his name in the Goblet instantly; he always liked adventure and a challenge. She had no such time for silly games, she had to study for classes and she didn't want anything getting in the way of her success.

"As you know, the three champions compete in the tournament," Dumbledore continued on, relaxed, "one from each of the participating schools. They will be marked on how well they perform each of the tournament tasks and the champion with the highest total after task three will win the Triwizard Cup. The champions will be chosen by an impartial selector: the Goblet of Fire"

The great wizard now took out his wand, tapping three times upon the top of the casket. The lid creaked slowly open. Dumbledore reached inside and pulled out a rather large, roughly hewn wooden cup. It would have been entirely unremarkable had it not been full to the brim with dancing blue-white flames.

Dumbledore closed the casket and placed the goblet carefully on top of it, where it would be clearly visible to even the first years near the other end of the Great Hall.

"Anybody wishing to submit themselves as champion must write their name and school clearly upon a slip of parchment and drop it into the goblet," said Dumbledore. "Aspiring champions have twenty-four hours in which to put their names forward. Tomorrow night, the goblet will return the names of the three it has judged most worthy to represent their schools. The goblet will be placed in the entrance hall tonight, where it will be freely accessible to all those wishing to compete.

To ensure that no underage student yields to temptation," said Dumbledore, "I will be drawing an Age Line around the Goblet of Fire once it has been placed in the entrance hall. Nobody under the age of seventeen will be able to cross this line.

"Finally, I wish to impress upon any of you wishing to compete that this tournament is not to be entered into lightly. Once a champion has been selected by the Goblet of Fire, he or she is obliged to see the tournament to the end. The placing of your name in the goblet constitutes a binding, magical contract. There can be no change of heart once you have become a champion. Please be very sure, therefore, that you are wholeheartedly prepared to play before you drop your name into the goblet. Now, I think it is time for bed. Good night to you all."

And with the wave of his hand, he extinguished all the candles in the Great Hall, leaving only the bright light of the Goblet of Fire to illuminate the room. Its blue-white sparks and flames wildly flowing in the air clearly caught everyone's sole attention.

"Very clever, Dumbledore." Hermione said, her eyes glued to the pretty sight before her.

"A bloody Age Line!" Fred Weasley said, his eyes glinting, catching the bright colors of the fire in his eye. They made their way all together across the Hall to the doors into the entrance hall. "Well, that should be fooled by an Aging Potion, shouldn't it? And once your name's in that goblet, you're laughing-" he made a look at Hermione, his tongue sticking out childishly "-it can't tell whether you're seventeen or not!"

"But I don't even think that anyone under the age of seventeen will stand much of a chance," Hermione chuckled, "we just haven't learned enough…"

"Speak for yourself 'Mione," George butted in, defending his brother's idea, "I, however, think it is a brilliant idea. You'll see yourself tomorrow, be there around lunchtime, my dear." His eyes widened humorously at Harry's face, "You'll try and get in, won't you, Harry?" His smile reached from ear to ear while Harry mulled over this thought.

"I wouldn't want to ever find out, I've got a feeling Dumbledore would send us to Azkaban if he knew we cheated the Age Line…" Harry chewed his lip, wanting to at least try but at the same time not wishing to disappoint the wizard he so admired.

Hermione smiled at least. "There's a good boy, Harry," she said as she ruffled his hair teasingly, "You're finally following the rules unlike some others that we know!" She chuckled a bit more from the blank look on Harry's face, but was soon interrupted by Ron's needless chatter.

"Do you see her at all Harry?" His head bobbing left and right, even jumping up to see above the crowd of students before him that were exiting. Harry gave Ron a look of confusion, but Hermione however, gave him one of incredulity. "That girl, the French one with the yellow hair! Well…it was more like a silver, but it was still yellow," his brows furrowed together in thought. Suddenly exclaiming, "the Veela!" as he came around the right word.

"Yes, Ron. The one right behind us, standing besides Cho?" Harry said simply, making a hand motion in back of them. Both the red head and Hermione looked at the same time, not having any trouble scanning the Hall and tracking her down. For Hermione it was rather easy spotting out the girl from seeing her platinum hair, and porcelain skin to match. The brunette's face grew in temperature, with blood reaching to her cheeks, when she found that the blonde was actually peering right back at her.

"Bloody hell, she's looking right at me!" Ronald commented ecstatically. He beamed at her, showing his teeth in a full out smile. Hermione rolled her eyes, finding this excruciatingly painful to watch before she gave one last scowl to the blonde and turn her heel to walk out.

"You're pathetic, Ronald." She said simply. When Harry and Ron noticed her leave, they had to sprint up to her to just catch up to her abnormal walking pace. The witch sighed as Ron tried so very hard to defend himself, as well as the French girl, all the way back into the Gryffindor Common Rooms. "See you guys in the morning. I'm very tired as it is, from just lack of stimulating conversation. Goodnight, Harry," she said with a warm smile, which quickly faded, "Goodnight, Ronald." She whipped around, waving her hand briefly as a goodbye to the boys as she disappeared into the staircase that led to her bedroom.

xxx

"Did you see that?" Fleur asked incredulously, her hand making a notion towards the trio. Her stomach grew even more nauseous than before. The brunette and the red haired boy just steered their heads in her direction, only to have the witch give her a scowl that rivaled the one she received from before when she asked for some bouillabaisse for Gabrielle. Her heart pounded in her chest, her face growing hot with unease for some unknown reason.

"**I swear if she so much as looks at you like that again…I don't understand it. She's probably just jealous, Fleur, don't take it to heart," **Gabrielle responded coldly, sending icy daggers with her steel blue eyes.

Cho and Luna exchanged glances, when Cho finally decided to speak. "Hermione's-the brunette there-is really a kind person…like I said she's probably just annoyed with Ron-that red head-I mean, you saw the way he was gaping at you!" Luna shrugged nonchalantly. "I hope you don't think too hard on this, Fleur, don't mind it. Have a goodnight to enjoy with your sister and friends," Cho said finally. With a lopsided smile she and Fleur embraced, before hugging Gabrielle as well, "It was nice to meet you both today, I hope you'll grace us with your presence tomorrow?"

Fleur grinned a little, as much as she could muster despite this sudden undesired sensation in the pit of her stomach. "Of course, it was great meeting you all as well." Fleur went in to envelop Luna, with Gabrielle mimicking her actions as well. They both said goodbye in unison, nodding their heads before going out the hall as well heading towards the grounds.

The grass was cold and wet, the night's weather as gloomy as ever with a soft mist hanging in the air. Fleur quickly wrapped herself up in her shawl, pulling Gabrielle closer to her for warmth as they treaded to the carriage. The blonde was lost in thought of the girl named "Hermione." _'At least I know her name. Maybe I should apologize to her…that way I won't have this gut feeling.' _She shuddered internally, her eyes fixed on the lighted carriage in the distance.

"**You're being very quiet, Fleur. Something on your mind, sister?" **Gabrielle asked with concern. She knew her sister better than anyone else in the world and in quiet moments like this when Fleur shut everything out, she could always pinpoint something wrong.

Fleur looked down at the wetness that covered the area, the drops of rain each twinkling in the soft moonlight. **"Nothing is the matter, Gabby." **Fleur was hesitant to say more than a simple "no" so she left it at that. She knew Gabrielle would go on a long rant about how rude the brunette was being towards her sister, but Fleur couldn't help but feel guilty that it was her fault. She almost always blamed her Veela heritage for this. _'I didn't ever ask for any of this.'_ She suddenly felt a strange string a pain pull at her stomach, bringing her hand to clutch at her abdomen. She grunted in pain, finally halting to a complete stop to rest, as if the pang would lessen.

"**Fleur…?" **The younger blonde questioned, her face pulling together in worry. She placed her hands on Fleur's shoulders lovingly, only to have them brushed off when her older sister continued on the path.

"**Sorry-it's only a cramp probably, Gabby." **Fleur tried to smile, seeing if this lie would go unnoticed by her sister. The younger blonde nodded a little, still keeping her careful eyes on her sister. They didn't talk the rest of the way, although to Fleur's comfort there wasn't much length left in their path so they reached their destination in a relatively short amount of time.

The carriage looked magnificent, like straight out of a fairy tale with all its elaborate embroidery and décor in the French style. Fleur didn't even notice how big it really was, being two stories and all. _'No wonder why it took six of those poor horses to pull this.'_ Out of the corner of her eye she saw a bright blue figure coming in at a quick walk, along with a second one following behind them.

"**Ah, Fleur! Wait up, I was looking for you inside the Hall."** The girl breathed out, as she halted right in front of the blonde and her sister. **"Are you excited at all? Marion and I have had a growing debate on whether or not you would be the one to put your name into that goblet," **she stated with a smirk when the second figure came near.

Fleur chuckled, smiling back at her friends. She regarded them both very close to her, but not to Gabrielle's level. She lifted her brow a tad, playfully, **"I guess you both will find the outcome tomorrow night, Mila?" **This made both French girls roll their eyes, Fleur always kept them guessing about certain things; relationships, being the main problem.

Fleur was actually quite a private person, contrary to popular belief. The only person she actually trusted to open up to was her sister, Gabrielle. She had learned over the years, as well, that you could only confide in certain people, with a great amount just clearly wanting to be near her because of her looks and status. Marion and Mila, however, were different cases. She knew them since the tender age of six; she grew up with them along with Gabrielle, who was only a couple years below them.

"**Fine, fine, Fleur," **Marion said, holding up her hands in defeat. Her dark, chocolate brown hair holding the moon's shine caught Fleur's attention. Both of her friends were truly pretty, radiant even. She always liked Marion's eyes, those deep brown orbs that in the light appeared golden. She had long black lashes that the blonde also admired as well. However, Marion noticed her friend's stare, **"What? Is that something on my face?"**

She brought a hand up, touching her cheek lightly before Fleur gave a light and tired grin, shaking her head, "Non."

"**I don't know about the three of you, but I'm tired," **Gabrielle muttered while rubbing her eyes, **"I have Defense Against the Dark Arts in the morning, and I'd rather not be late for breakfast. Goodnight, Marion and Mila." **She hugged them silently, about to head into the doors of the carriage with some other fellow peers, but stopped in the doorway, **"Fleur, you coming?"**

Fleur looked up at her sister, nodding her head in agreement. She turned to her other two friends and bid them goodnight, embracing them both, before joining Gabrielle. She yawned with exhaustion clouding her eyes, when she walked the stairs into her dormitory to her own room after she said goodnight to her sister. She was thankful that Madame Maxine granted her enough privacy to have a separate room, seeing as she was in fact, Head Girl at her school. Walking over to her bed, she quickly pulled off her muffler, and hat, undressing for bed as fast as she could while the cold nipped at her bare skin. She was thankful that Gabrielle had remembered to bring her comfortable silk slip; it was her favorite pick to wear for bed.

It was amazing how warm, and soft the bed felt when she slipped into the covers, showing her how truly tired she really was. It didn't take long before she wandered into a deep sleep, not waking at all during the night.

xxx

The morning sun rays lighted up Fleur's room, to her forgetfulness she forgot to shut the blinds. It took her a few blinks of the eye, and a bit of stretching in her bed to fully wake up to this English morning. She yawned the last bit of sleep out of her, rubbing her eyes out of their daze. Sitting at the edge of her bed, she fumbled for the clock that was placed on her nightstand. It read six thirty in bright red print. She knew she wasn't going to bed, and breakfast was coming up soon anyways so she took the opportunity to shower and dress.

Decked out in her blue skirt and blouse, she was adjusting her blazer while she was walking out the door. She went into the younger girl's dormitory to see if the younger girl was still in bed, however, she wasn't surprised to see that her bed was empty. As quietly as she could, she closed the door and made way for the staircase. She stepped down the stairs and into the lounge area, she was pleasantly surprised to see Marion on the couch, reading a Daily Prophet. The brunette folded the newspaper upon hearing footsteps, looking up from the black print as her eyes met Fleur's.

"Ah, goodmorning to you, Fleur," she said in English, putting down the paper, "what are you doing up this early?"

The blonde put her hands in her pockets and shrugged, "Just figured I'd get a good start for the day, head down for breakfast early. Maybe try and find my way around this maze of a castle."

The dark haired girl got up, patting her skirt lightly, "Mind if I join you then, for breakfast? I didn't want to go alone, nor wait any longer. I'm starving," she muttered, rubbing her grumbling stomach.

Fleur gave her a smile, "It's fine, come on." She adjusted her muffler to her liking before stepping outside.

Huddled together for warmth, they walked arm in arm up the gravel path towards the entrance to the grand castle. Most of the way, Marion had her head comfortably resting on Fleur's shoulder, seeing as Fleur was quite tall amongst her peers. At only 5'11", her body was lean and skinny, giving her the appearance of a model. She was certainly beautiful enough, and had gotten offers only to decline them in the end (much to her mother's disappointment).

By the time they reached the Great Hall, their noses were as pink as the blush that slowly crept upon Fleur's cheeks when she spotted out Hermione sitting with a red-haired girl. Upon hearing the doors creak open, Hermione had looked up to see the two French girls as well, her lips tugged in a frown. She quickly looked down, exhaling loudly the breath that she held in her chest for so long. Marion looked at her thoughtfully, her eyes trying to find the blonde's. Fleur gave her a smile as her chest tightened, when Marion hugged her even closer as they made their way to the Ravenclaw table. Thankfully she spotted out Cho as well; who was looking quite tired herself eating a biscuit, sitting alone. Apparently Gabrielle had been a fast eater too, for she had not yet located her in the Hall.

She frowned slightly, but once Cho noticed them coming round, waving her over she smiled and nodded. "You just missed Gabrielle, Fleur; she already left with Harry to her class." Fleur tilted her head, in confusion.

"Harry?"

"Oh yes, Harry. Harry Potter, he came over and talked to me while she and I were eating and they apparently had the same class together." She explained, taking a sip (of what could have been orange juice) out of her golden cup.

"Harry Potter? The, Harry Potter?" Fleur looked at her in wonder. The boy who lived was just only her sister's age.

"Yes," Cho chuckled, "He's the black haired boy in Gryffindor that was sitting next to Hermione and Ron. You'll never see one without the other two, I swear."

The blonde's eyes widened, a blush coming to her face when she remembered last night. Then she came to a realization that he was the boy that spoke to her yesterday when she asked for the plate. "Ah, yes, yes. I remember his face." She said, sitting down hurriedly before remembering her friend next to her. "Oh, this is my dear friend, Marion, and this is Cho." She said, her hand gesturing towards the pretty asian girl. They shook hands, with Marion greeting the Ravenclaw student in French.

Breakfast was pleasant enough, going by too fast from talking the entire time with Cho, even though she had already been finished long before. Turns out the three of them had Divination together, which Fleur was glad since Cho probably would know her way around the castle just fine. Walking out of the Great Hall was agonizing to the blonde, her curiosity killing her just to see if the brunette was still there. She didn't have the courage until she had walked out the door, giving a fleeting look upon the Gryffindor table. She sighed in disappointment when she saw the brunette was no longer there, only a book left where she was sitting.

Looking around, she noticed Marion and Cho up ahead of her, and quickened her pace to keep up. However, some small frame collided with the blonde, sending the books she was carrying everywhere on the floor and her papers flying through the air. "Merdi!" Fleur exclaimed in her surprise, seeing the papers floating in the breeze away from them. She got up without a look to the figure she bumped into, hastily fixing the books as she quickly apologized before chasing after the papers. She didn't go far though, seeing as she was fast enough to grasp the last one in the air not far from the entrance to the Great Hall where she first came out of.

Feeling proud at her feat, she put on a great smile when she leaned down to the disheveled girl on the floor who was reorganizing her books. Fleur had to do a double take just to make sure her eyes weren't fooling her when she recognized those soft brown curls, and that loosened scarlet-yellow tie.

It was in fact, Hermione, who appeared to be quite disheveled, muttering how apologies and how she forgot her book. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-" Her voice faded as she lifted her head, eye level with Fleur who had bent down to pick up the books for her. Fleur was so embarrassed and nervous she couldn't help but leak out a small scent of her thrall, which turned some of the heads walking by. When her sky blue eyes met Hermione's chocolate orbs, she saw her face soften just a little before returning blank again, much to her dismay.

"Ah, here are your papers, Mademoiselle," she said, her hand holding out the papers when Hermione was upright with her books in hand. Fleur could have sworn she saw a soft blush on the brunette's cream colored skin when she took the papers from her. Fleur awkwardly shifted feet (smiling a little at her heroic venture), waiting for the brunette to say something, but decided against it when Hermione's brows pulled together in skepticism. "Um…I'll just be going now, sorry." And with that being said she quickly bound off, trying to find her two companions that waited for her at the end of the corridor. Apparently they had seen the whole situation unfold, but could only see Hermione's back much to Fleur's dismay; she wanted at least, the opinion from Marion of what the brunette could have been thinking. '_But then again, why do I even care so much? Why should this even bother me, what she thinks of me?' _She asked herself in deep thought, clearly not knowing the answer to a simple problem in her life.

Little did she know that this "simple" problem would grow much more than that in good time. For now Fleur was lost in thought, mindlessly following Cho and Marion to the towers for their class.

* * *

**Slowly, slowly, slowly. I like things to go slow. Hope you enjoyed this little piece :3 constructive criticism is also allowed. i like feedback.**


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